City seeks input on priorities for recreational facilities

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Menifee City Council members last week received an update from city staff on the status of parks and recreation facilities, even as input from residents is being sought.

A consultant hired by the city is gathering data to prioritize the needs for more parks, walking trails, and other recreational opportunities as part of an update to the Menifee Parks Master plan. The plan was last studied in 2016, when it was created.

According to Matt Wilkins of consulting group KTU+A, a little more than 500 responses have been received from residents regarding requests for additional recreational facilities. That includes about 288 survey cards returned from 4,000 that were mailed out to select residences. In addition, about 245 responses have been received online.

City officials hope to receive many more responses to the online survey, which can be accessed at a link at the end of this news article.

“We’ve tried to talk to as many people as possible,” Jonathan Nicks, community services director, said at Wednesday’s council meeting in response to a statement of concern from Mayor Pro Tem Dean Deines.

“How reliable is 500 as a number to base a Master Plan on?” Deines asked. “I’m disappointed that we’re doing all this talking based on 500 people. You need to pull all the stops out.”

Council member Lesa Sobek also expressed concern that although random residents were surveyed, senior groups consulted and public workshops held, the voice of young people seems under-represented.

Specifically, Sobek mentioned the Youth Leaders of Menifee as a group of teens who could help facilitate responses from young people. They make up a large percentage of people who use the facilities and who have opinions of sites such as skate parks, pump tracks and athletic fields, she said.

The city’s website lists a total of 54 parks in Menifee – 16 operated by the City of Menifee and 38 operated by Valley-Wide Recreation and Parks District. According to Wilkins, 12 parks covering 84 acres have been added since the Master Plan was created and four new parks are under construction.

The KTU+A survey seeks input not only on traditional parks and athletic fields but other amenities, and the consultant ranks the city’s facilities against national averages.

The city’s goal for parks space is 5 acres per 1,000 residents, even though the accepted standard is 2 acres per 1,000, Wilkins said. Menifee’s current number is about 1 acre per 1,000. The goal also is to have a park within a half-mile (10-minute walking distance) of every resident. A map of the city’s parks show several under-served areas in that regard.

According to the survey results so far, the following are the most desired additional amenities:

Walking trails
Splash pads and pools
Community gardens
Dog parks
Adventure playgrounds
Pickleball courts

Officials acknowledge that based on the city’s population in excess of 100,000, there continues to be a shortage of lighted athletic fields for the many youth programs in place.

Again questioning the preliminary results, council member Bob Karwin noted that the skate park ranked very low on the list.

“Does that accurately represent the community?” he asked. “I suggest we find other ways of gathering input. We need to reach out more to the youth.”

Nicks said a meeting with the Youth Leaders of Menifee is planned, and other efforts will be made to include youth in the survey.

To participate in the online survey, click this link.